


roaring into firelight

by sabinelagrande



Series: Desperation Song [5]
Category: X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Gen, Post-Canon, Scheming, Telepathic Combat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-29
Updated: 2011-12-29
Packaged: 2017-10-28 10:00:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/306689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sabinelagrande/pseuds/sabinelagrande
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Azazel and his trap.</p>
            </blockquote>





	roaring into firelight

There is an ache right on the side of Magneto's head, and no matter what he does, it just keeps growing.

No one in this room is helping.

"We have to review this one more time," Mastermind is saying.

"What's there to review?" Astra says, snorting. "We don't have anything."

"Someone had to get in," Magneto says, pointedly ignoring her. "Getting Kurt out was the easy part."

"One of the staff?" Mystique offers.

Magneto shakes his head. "The records have been triple-checked."

"As have the minds of anyone who has access to the records," Emma puts in.

"We're overlooking the obvious," Mastermind says. "Azazel could-"

"Had Azazel teleported in here, the place would have lit up like a Christmas tree," she says. "His power signature is programmed into all the defense systems." She sighs. "Still, teleportation is likely."

"Well," Astra says, annoyed, "who the hell can teleport _and_ wants Kurt gone? Deadpool?"

"Please," Mastermind says, rolling his eyes. "I grant you, if someone paid him, he'd do it in a heartbeat, but he would do it very, very loudly. Xavier doesn't have a teleporter, does he?"

"Have you not been listening?" Magneto says testily. "It's not the X-Men."

Emma suddenly throws her head back. "I have a lock on Azazel."

Astra's eyes go wide. "What?"

"He's close, and he's all but screaming for attention."

When Magneto looks over, Mystique is gripping the edge of the table so hard her knuckles are turning white. "Where is he?" she says, through clenched teeth.

"It's obviously a trap," Mastermind warns.

"And I'm going to go spring it," she says, starting to stand up.

Magneto puts a hand on her arm. "You wanted to come," he reminds her. "If you leave, you're against us."

She looks daggers at him, but she sits back down.

Mastermind scrubs his face with his hands. "I know I just said it's a trap, but I don't know if we have a better option. If we had the time-" he holds up a finger- "which we don't, we could plan. We might just have to bite the bullet on this one."

"Let's hammer it out, then," Astra says.

\--

It is a trap, alright; following Azazel's tracks leads them to what looks like a military base, and getting in is far, far too easy. The corridors of the bunker are white and clean, nothing like the outside of the building, just a little too winding for comfort.

Magneto stops at the first open room and refuses to go on. "That bastard is looking for us," he says, and Emma can only shrug in agreement. "I'm not walking all the way into his labyrinth. If we're going to do this, he comes to me."

It doesn't take any time; all of a sudden, Azazel appears in midair, dropping neatly onto the floor, smoothing away a bit of dust on his jacket. "You came," he says. "I wondered if you were going to."

"You know what I want, Azazel," Magneto snaps. "I'm not going to play games with you."

"But of course," Azazel says, with a little bow. He speaks a few words of Russian into his earpiece, and it's only moments later that Kurt comes around the corner, pushed along by a pair of Azazel's mercenaries. It's then that it becomes obvious that they've miscalculated; Azazel is one step ahead, planning on this very room being the location of the fight to come.

"This is a warning, yes?" Azazel says; with a wave, he dismisses the guards, and Kurt goes running forward, clinging tightly to Magneto. "A promise of things to come."

"Give it up, Azazel," Astra snaps. "No one's buying it from you anymore."

Azazel ignores her. "I never forgave you for killing Shaw," he says, smiling; Magneto doesn't even have to say anything for his rage to reverberate around the room. "You got in my way, then you kept me for a pet. I am pleased to destroy you as many times in as many ways as possible." He eyes Kurt and Mystique. "I have already made quite the start."

"Shaw was going to end the world," Mystique shouts. "Why would you possibly want him to do it?"

"I told you long ago, my love," he says to her. "I am an anarchist." He laughs. "Is there a better goal?"

She draws her swords. "Shut up and come at me."

"With pleasure," he says, grinning widely, but before he ever closes the distance between them, Mastermind throws a hand up. Azazel stops, dropping to the floor in a crouch, looking around the room. "Is this the way we play? By all means, then."

Mystique looks at Magneto, who's standing off to one side, poised, waiting. Azazel is jumping and slashing at things the rest of them can't see, things Mastermind is piping directly into his head; Emma has a hand on Mastermind's shoulder, her eyes closed in concentration.

Mystique gives Magneto a look. "So we're just gonna stand here and-"

"They can only buy us time," he says hurriedly. "Take Kurt and get out."

She nods. "Come on, Kurt," she says. "Time to play piggy back."

"I don't know what that means," he tells her, even as he's scrambling onto her back, clinging to her shoulders; they take off down the corridor, headed out.

"I'll keep an eye on them," Astra says to Magneto. "Best I can do is chase him around."

He gives her a look. "You have lasers on your wrists."

"And you're letting Mystique run off with your boy," she reminds him. "Pick one."

He sighs angrily. "Go, then." He turns his back on her. "Emma, Mastermind," he calls. "On my mark."

It's hard to run with Kurt on her back, but Mystique grits her teeth and does it. "Aren't you supposed to be a teleporter?" she says.

"I don't know where we are," Astra snaps. "We could just as easily end up outside as in the middle of a wall." She turns, looking behind them. "I don't think Azazel's following us."

"Well, that gives us about thirty seconds of leeway," she says.

"It's just a shame what happened during it," Astra says, as they round a corner.

Mystique frowns. "What happened?" she asks, and Astra hits something on the wall, bringing a clear door down from the ceiling.

"You went crazy," she says, drawing her gun. "It was awful, how you killed Kurt before I could bring you down."

Kurt climbs down off Mystique's shoulders, shrinking back away from the two of them. "Astra, what the _fuck_ -" she starts.

"You left Magneto, and I cleaned up your mess," she says coldly. "You had your chance with him. Now it's my turn."

Mystique paces warily, trying to get the best angle on her. "What are you even talking about? I've been gone for a long time."

"You think he wouldn't take you back?" she scoffs. "The mother of his child?"

Mystique glances at Kurt, who looks at her wide-eyed. "I've tried that before. It didn't work then, why is it supposed to work now?"

"Just as long as you never get to try again," she says. "As soon as you and him-" she flicks the gun towards Kurt- "are out of the picture, then it's my time."

"Astra?" Kurt says, his voice full of hurt and fear.

"Shut up," she snaps.

Mystique looks at her in disbelief. "So, so you set this all up? You found Azazel, you had Kurt kidnapped-"

She snorts. "Azazel found me. We just happened to have similar interests."

"I don't know if you noticed," she says, "but Magneto is in there trying to kill your partner in crime."

"You think he can't?" Astra says. "The faster Magneto finishes him off, the better. Then I'll have all of you out of my hair."

There's a thudding noise that neither of them pay attention to, barely audible compared to the sounds of the battle behind them; when Kurt looks down at his wrist, the heavy bracelet, the one that kept him from jumping, is gone.

"This is fucking crazy, Astra."

She laughs. "In two minutes, I'll still be crazy, but you'll be dead. I think it's obvious who wins that one." She levels her gun at Mystique. "Goodbye."

"No!" Kurt shouts, leaping forward; Mystique puts her arms out, and the instant they connect, they disappear.

"Goddammit," Astra says, through her teeth, and before she can even decide what to do, the gun in her hand curls up like a question mark.


End file.
